Entreprenuership LU 7 presentation

PREPARING FOR AND DELIVERING AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS PLAN PRESENTATION

I. OVERVIEW

A. How you present yourself and the manner in which you interact with the people you will be presenting to makes a much difference as the plan itself.

B. The audience will not only be judging the contents of the plan, but will also be judging the presenter.

C. They will judge the way you carry yourself, your facial expressions, your PowerPoint slides, and how you handle questions as cues to how effective a business owner you will be.

II. THE PRE-PRESENTATION

A. The initial task is to find out as much as you can about the audience you will be presenting to. This research will require primary research in terms of discrete inquiries and secondary research in terms of web searches for bios and backgrounds.

B. This allows you to tie the proposal into the other activities of the audience which may cause them to see more value in supporting your efforts.

C. A second reason is that you might find some personal connections with some members of the audience to break the ice, build rapport, and develop allies.

D. You need to know your allotted presentation time and plan accordingly, including time for questions and answers. It is also advisable to reconnoiter the proposed presentation venue for insight on any adjustments necessitated by the venue. Large venues might require larger font sizes on your PowerPoint slides to be readable.

E. It is also important to practice your presentation for time, delivery, and content. Practice in front of a live audience for valuable feedback and to get a sense of what will work and what will not.

III. DELIVERING AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION

A. A rule of thumb concerning PowerPoint slides is 6-6-6. No more than 6 words per bullet, 6 bullets per slide, and 6 text slides in a row before a visual break.

B. Another rule of thumb is no more than 12 slides for a thirty minute presentation.

C. Your PowerPoint slides are not meant to tell the story of your business, you are.

D. Effective presentations connect with the audience. Some ways to do this are: (1) tell a personal story or anecdote, (2) Use humor, (3) Show passion through hand gestures and excitement in your voice, (4) Involve the audience by a show of hands on key points, and (5) demonstrate a prototype of the product.

IV. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE CONTENT

A. Intro > Company Name/Logo, Owner’s Contact Info, Audience Acknowledgement, Date of Presentation.

B. Slide 1 > Overview (Executive Summary Points)

C. Slide 2 > The Need to be Served or Problem to be Solved (Explain, Validate, and Measure)

D. Slide 3 > The Solution (Competitive Advantage and Barriers to Entry)

E. Slide 4 > Opportunity and Target Market (Market Size, Trends, Assumptions, and Projected Sales)

F. Slide 5 > Technology (Unique Aspects and Intellectual Property Issues)

G. Slide 6 > Competition (Competitive Comparison and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage)

H. Slide 7 > Marketing and Sales (Marketing and Pricing Strategy, Sales Process)

I. Slide 8 > Management Team (Backgrounds and Expertise)

J. Slide 9 > Financial Projections (Summary of profit projections and cash flow projections for first 3 years. Also their underlying assumptions)

K. Slide 10 > Current Status (Milestones achieved to date, current ownership structure, how current funding was spent, and current legal structure)

L. Slide 11 > New Funding Request (Sources and Uses of Funds and what can be accomplished with new funding.)

M. Slide 12 > Summary (Strongest points about venture, management team, and exit strategy. Also solicit feedback.)